I am a great admirer of Sweet Cherry Books for Children, having reviewed several here in Linda bag. Consequently, when a surprise copy of The agency for all spectral things: the case of Dr. Dust By Samuel J. Halpin arrived with illustrations by Laura Borio, I just had to dive directly! My grateful thanks to Morgan for sending it to me. I am delighted to share my review today.
And what could be a better date to share my review than when the launch of Sweet Cherry Sweet Cherry Every day of the cherry, a national celebration of accessible books and inclusive reading for all children.
Sweet Cherry says’ every day of cherry is more than just books. It is about ensuring that each child, regardless of their capacity, can experience the joy of reading. We want to gather schools, libraries, bookstores and organizations to defend accessible stories and highlight why inclusive books import.
Van, read more about this new initiative here.
Posted by Sweet Cherry on April 17, 2025, Dr. Dust’s case It is available for purchase through the editor’s links here.
Dr. Dust’s case
A bright and spooky middle grade adventure!
Billy is having a miserable summer. She has fallen with her best friend. Their mothers could have to sell their antique store. And she just kill her gold fish. When Billy meets some unusual shows through which he can not only see ghosts, things take a creepy turn.
My review of the Dr. Dust case
Billy is not having a good summer.
What a fabulous book! Dr. Dust’s case It is full of adventure and emotion and I thought it was excellent.
The plot is fast and exciting when Billy discovers that he can see and listen to ghosts that have some difficulties! There is a lot of action, the fantastic illustrations of Laura Borio and the perfect balance of text for blank and images so that Dr. Dust’s case It is brilliant for young readers who move to chapter books and independent reading, for use in schools or as a text shared at home. This is one of those books that I would like to have access as a child.
Language is fair for the age of the audience. Some vocabulary will not be familiar, but the context provides the opportunity to learn new words and I thought it was wonderful that children are not sponsored by language. The use of capital letters for emphasis, naturalistic dialogue and judicious ellipsis are also excellent teaching tools, since they model the type of writing that we want young people to emulate.
I loved the interwoven inclusion in history. Billy has two mothers and not dad. His new friend Dorothy is incredibly high, so he often mocks his height. Billy is often involved in the distraction behavior in school and gets into trouble, problems that are in the heart of her fall with her best friend Dev. These are aspects with which children can easily relate.
That fight is just one of the issues that will resonate with children while enjoying history. I loved the way the relationship between Billy and Dev. Billy really learns and develops through him; And thinking about how our actions affect others is handled with an incredible skill by Samuel J. Halpin.
But while Dr. Dust’s case It could be a crunch book for the use of the medium grade classroom, its true strength lies in being a captivating, entertaining and exciting story of ghosts, facts and evils that readers of all ages will love. I thought it was a Belter and shouldn’t get lost!
About Samuel J. Halpin
Born in Tasmania with Irish roots, Samuel J. Halpin writes daily. Having studied journalism at the University of Nueva Gales del Sur, Samuel took cinematography at AFTRS, the Australian National School in Sydney before moving to London and working on comedy television production. The books of his children are his response to an childhood raised in a mixture of fairy tales, crowded shelves and hot chocolate cups.
For more information, visit Samuel’s website, Find it on Twitter/X @samueljhalpin and Instagram.
About Laura Borio
As soon as their parents put pencils in their hands, Laura decided to try them on the walls of the kitchen. Now it is no longer based on the walls, but on any other surface, in fact, in addition to the digital, he loves to draw and paint wood and paper. In 2008, Laura attended a comics course and in 2023 he attended a teacher in digital illustration. Most of his days are full of drawings, but he also likes to watch fantasy movies, read books for children, practice Tai Chi, eat pancakes with friends and disturb his cat.
You can find Laura on Instagram.
